1856-1864 Transcribed letters of Sgt. George Thomas Patten and his wife Lydia Ann Denton-Patten during their 1856-1858 courtship and during his service in the Civil War from 1862 to 1863. With letters from family, friends, and fellow soldiers. George responded to Lincoln's appeal for more recruits, and enlisted in the 6th Michigan Cavalry Regiment on 6 September 1862. He left his young wife, son, and family by rail from Grand Rapids, Michigan to Washington, D.C. on 10 December 1862. He fought at the Pennsylvania state Battles of Hanover, Hunterstown, and Gettysburg, and the final battle of the Gettysburg Campaign at Falling Waters, West Virginia on 14 July 1863.

The letters bring to life the pain of separation and loss within a family unit during the Civil War.